USA: Electric-car charger tax breaks ending as more EVs arrive

Just as several new plug-in electric vehicles are headed to showrooms, the government is letting expire a tax credit for installing home and commercial charging equipment.

A tax credit for chargers ends Saturday, even as proponents press Congress to reinstate it, perhaps retroactively, in January.

“The timing of this couldn’t be more unfortunate,” coming just as more electric cars are on the way, says Genevieve Cullen, vice president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, a trade group for the electric-vehicle industry.

The credit “created a growth opportunity for a new industry” and competition, says Tom Saxton of advocacy group Plug In America.

The credit allows taxpayers to deduct 30% of the cost of chargers installed in their garages up to $1,000. On commercial units, the tax break is up to $30,000, according to the IRS.

That’s down from 2010, when the tax credit was 50% as part of the government’s stimulus package.
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